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My kind of holiday

When it comes to celebrating the winter holidays, my family of three is not known for its many traditions. Honestly speaking, I come from a country where religion was outlawed and at some point, having a Christmas tree was a dangerous endeavor that could land you in jail (glad times have changed). Once we moved to the States, Christmas was everything I could ever dream of and more, from neighborhood houses decored in thousands of bright lights to holiday songs blasting in every store as they enticed with their pretty, colorful, shiny, sparkly, newness. Everyone was running rampant, looking for gifts and checking things off the list – completely unbeknownst behavior to me. As time has passed I have tried finding my own definition and understanding of what this holiday season means to me in this country I have called home for the last twenty years. I went from giving BFFs Bath&Body Works lotions and potions, to random $5 gifts to co-workers I hardly know, to contributing to worthy donations in someone’s name.

This particular year I laid low, and I mean l.o.w. As in, only sent out a few gifts – under five. Apart from not being able to muster enough courage to figure out the best deals both in store and online, I just couldn’t be bothered in trying to locate items for people that I love and have everything they need. I understand gesture and know what goodwill is all about, but I wanted to pull away from feeling the pressure of gift giving.

So I got my mother something small from Anthropologie that would make her smile every time she used it in the kitchen, and got my man a couple of JCrew goodies for his fancy days at the hospital. And my besties, each a small item as a token of celebration for the New Year. It felt great to take it easy and follow my gut feeling rather than reacting to everything around me. I received a couple of gifts for my birthday since it’s close to Christmas, and that was mighty special, but other than that I was glad to simply enjoy experiences and friends via Skype.

Besides, all those who know me believe that I’ll treat myself to Anthropologie if that’s what the mood strikes, and leave it up to me to pick what I like 🙂 A week ago with my birthday discount in hand, I was lucky to find this dress

at my local B&M. After trying it on a couple of months ago it’s been on the back of my mind, and since it never made it to sale, I decided to treat myself, Parks & Rec style.